


Marching Under a New Banner

by POTaTOS_Chips



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-07 09:18:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14077719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/POTaTOS_Chips/pseuds/POTaTOS_Chips
Summary: *this story contains major spoilers for Breath of the Wild*It's been months since the defeat of Ganon, and Zelda is due to be crowned Queen after Hyrule Castle is repaired. During this period, workers find multiple Sheikah Slates beneath the castle, and Zelda decides to give one to each of the successor champions and pilots of the Divine Beasts. Despite his deteriorating health, Link is forced to travel with Zelda to deliver Prince Sidon his Sheikah Slate. However, when they arrive, Sidon proposes a plan that could help uncover why Mipha's spirit is not at rest, and secrets about her that were best left unseen...*this story uses characters from 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild', which I do not own. All events in this story are unofficial.*





	1. Two Sides of a Coin (Prologue)

**Author's Note:**

> This story is going to be expanded upon frequently! As such, archive warnings may apply at some point, even if they don't now! Pairings may also be added as the story progresses! Thanks for understanding!

Link didn't even open his eyes. He was falling. Falling into what, he didn't know. All he knew was the ice cold lashing of the rain and wind as he plummeted, his entire body in a seething, broken agony that traversed his toes to his head. He could hear the crackle of bones and the dull snap of limbs jumping out of their sockets. His bones. His joints. He wanted to claw his face off, just to get away from the pain. Even for one second. Even if it would kill him. His body crumpled as he broke the surface of ice cold water and was dragged to the depths below. He opened his eyes, hoping to find a way out, any way away from this hell. He saw shapes falling into the water in the still, pale light. He tried to move, but the slightest movement made pain shoot up his limbs, and nestled there for what seemed like an eternity. Blood rose from his arms, legs, back and head. His arms. His legs. His head. It mingled with the water and with the blood of whoever were falling with him. He gagged at the thought of what they may be, on. but pain shot through his neck, determined to keep him as it's own. A voice broke through. Not his own. One he knew, but couldn't place a finger on. 'Link! Just breathe! Please, you'll be okay, I promise! Oh Hylia, what have I done?' He opened his mouth, and a silent scream escaped as he was wracked with a brutal tearing sensation across his neck. What precious air he had left escaped his lungs, and he slowly watched it float to the surface of the water which had been stained an ironically passive shade of pastel pink by blood. The light started to fade out of his vision, and the pain started to recede. The sound of slow impact upon water above him softened, and everything curled up inside his own mind. Everything stopped existing. Except for a hand. A thin, lithe hand that clasped tenderly around his. He knew he’d felt this before. Somewhere before, long ago. The hand didn’t come from the same person as the voice. He knew who’s hand it was. He knew it was –

Link burst out of his sleep in a cold, relentless sweat, panting heavily and with tears searching their ways down the contours on his face and soaking into his pillow. He gently lifted his arm up. No pain. No marks. Nothing. He lifted his body up and pulled himself out of his bed. He felt weak, but he could manage it. Link hugged the banister as he walked down the stairs. It was less walking than falling in a heavily controlled manner. He rested for a couple of seconds at the bottom of the stairs. Amazing. Barely two months after defeating Ganon and he was already on death's doorstep. Purah had put his condition down to prolonged exposure to Malice, and after Zelda lost her powers, she figured there was little to be done about it. Link hobbled over to the table, and picked up a bottle of milk. It seemed that Zelda had delivered him Lon Lon Milk. The premium brand. He removed the cork, and sipped it. He could feel it passing through him and rehydrating his parched body. He took a bigger mouthful. He let the complex flavour crawl over his taste buds before swallowing it. He immediately threw up a vile mixture of milk and stomach acid, staining the oak floorboards. 'Great' He thought, trudging his way over to the mop. Link grabbed the mop, and slumped against the wall. His head was pulsing, and his skin was a putrid shade of alabaster. As he coughed violently, blood started falling out of his mouth, which added to the sickening concoction of fluid on the floor. He couldn't even stand the strain of staying awake. How pathetic had he become? Link fell onto his side, his body limp regardless of how hard he tried to move. He welcomed the blanket of sleep that was put over him, but he knew that both sides of the coin were different hells to him.


	2. A Blank Slate

'Explain everything.' Purah handed Link a cup of herbal tea, and sat on a stool opposite him. 'Everything? How much is everything?' Link was wrapped in a blanket on a cushioned seat with his back slumped against the back. 'Since you started getting symptoms. And it appears you've worsened - you scared the princess half to death when she went to drop off the groceries this morning. She had no choice but to bring you to me, seeing you in a state like that. You can't die on her again. That would be too much for her to take.' Link gulped and closed his eyes. One hundred years of being alone, the thought of her rescue the only thread keeping her from falling to the Calamity. One hundred years of being alone did things to her. 'It probably started, what, three weeks ago? I started to feel light headed periodically and my hand eye coordination was a bit off. I didn't think much of it at the time, but then I felt weaker and weaker every passing day. I believed I could sleep it off, but then the nightmares started.' Link shuddered at the thought of the nightmares (Could they be called nightmares? They felt like he was in the moment.) that he had endrued. Some were mundane but unsettling, some were an assault on every nerve in his body. 'Is anything wrong, Link? Symin, get Link some more herbal tea.' 'Are you sure, Miss Director? He's hardly touched his last cup.' Symin pried the rapidly cooling cup from Link's soft hands without any effort. 'Symin, add some more courser bee honey, will you? That had some positive effects last time we tried it.' Purah signalled Symin in the direction of the door so he could heat the water above the Sheikah furnace. Link slumped further down the chair, his entire body more on the floor than the seat at this point. 'Explain the dreams to me. The more information you can give us, the more likely we'll be able to find a way to solve your problem.' Purah sighed. 'If I must be honest with you Link, we don't know how we can solve your problem. Courser bee honey works to an extent, and red potion even better than that, but the lab is running low on funding, and with the entire of Hyrule in economic decline, we're not seeing a light at the end of the tunnel any time soon. I sent out messengers to the Gerudo, Rito, Gorons and Zora, but we haven't heard a response from any of them. In all honesty, I just want to know more about these dreams, regardless of whether they do correlate with your condition. Forgive me. But please, tell me all you can remeber about these dreams.' Link's brow started to sweat up at the thought of the dream he had last night. He swallowed and told Purah everything. The pain. How realistic it all felt. The impending sense of dread. The feeling of the malice creeping throughout him. He'd tried so hard to not let it get to him, but eventually it did. That's when things got really bad for him. He could barely move out of bed most days, and needed help to do something as simple as go to the village. 'Ah.' Purah had been carefully noting down everything that Link had said. 'And is there anything else of note that you've experienced?' Link was about to answer, but the door slammed open as Symin paraded in with a cup of boiling tea infused with courser bee honey. He put it down on Link's lap, and Link just about mustered the energy to lift it to his mouth. It almost scalded the inside of his mouth, but it tasted so sweet. Almost a sickly sweet, but still to a pleasant degree. 'Miss Director, it appears we have a visitor. Is it alright if they enter?' Symin propped Link back up against the chair straight and tucked the blanket carefully around his body. 'Yes, please let them enter.' replied Purah, still writing in her notebook. The door opened again, and whoever entered walked over to Link. Link turned his head up to look at the visitor. It was the princess. 'Good morning, Link. Are you feeling any better?' Link shook his head. 'That's a dissapointment. I spent many of my hard earned rupees on that honey you know. Miss Purah, I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first?' 'The bad news, as always.' Purah didn't even look up from her notebook. 'The Gerudo tribe has agreed to fund your laboratory.' Purah stopped writing, and gave a cold, hard stare at Zelda for a few seconds. 'That's not exactly what I call bad news, Zelda.' Zelda sighed. 'But only if Link returns the Thunder Helmet.' Link would have groaned if he had the energy to. What they didn't know is that he had 'misplaced' it during the summer. 'And the good news?' Purah started jotting down more in her notebook. 'King Dorephan gives you his full, unconditional cooperation.' Purah dropped her notebook in shock, mouth wide open. Symin looked up from his book. 'You must be kidding.' Purah was almost completely frozen. 'Oh, no. A young Zora messenger asked me to relay the message to you earlier this morning.' Symin let out a chuckle. 'Perhaps we won't go broke after all, Miss Director.' Purah sat down, still almost paralised in shock and joy. 'Link, I also have news for you. Miss Purah, you might want to hear this as well. We recently discorvered multiple more Sheikah Slates beneath the castle during excavation for repairs. As exciting as this must be for Miss Purah, we have decided to deliver them instead to each of the sucessor champions, and one to you. Please, take this as a token of my gratitude for saving Hyrule.' Zelda placed the slate on Link's lap. 'Thank you.' Link croaked, the words barely escaping his throat. 'It is my pleasure.' She said. A word echoed through Link's mind. A name. Mipha. Why did Zelda just quote Mipha? Didn't she have disdain for Mipha? He couldn't think about it for any longer. It put far too much strain on his mind. 'Anyway, Link, I would like to announce that we are bound for Zora's Domain tomorrow morning. I'm sorry it had to be when you were ill, but we simply need to deliver the slates as fast as possible, and due to its proximity, Zora's Domain should be our first destination. I hope that's okay with you.' Link nodded, and sipped his piping hot tea. 'Excuse me for butting in, but I object to your opinions.' Purah slammed her notebook down on the table, pointing an accusing finger at Zelda. 'Pardon me, Miss Purah! Do you require I give the slates all to you?' Zelda, in a panic, dropped two slates out of her bag, before picking them both back up again. 'Oh no, that's not it at all, Zelda. You're not just going because you want to deliver the slate! You also just want to be around lots of handsome young zora men!' Zelda blushed deeply, and buried her head in her hands. 'N - no! That's no the reason at all!' Purah started giggling. 'I'm just kidding with you. Now, if you'd let me get on with my analysis in peace, I might not force you to hand over the slates for my own research. You're friend's life is potentially on the line here.' 'Certainly, Miss Purah. Link, be outside the general store at noon! I'll be waiting for your arrival.' Zelda slammed the door shut behind her and ran down the hill as fast as her legs could carry her. 'She's quite a character, honestly. I wonder why she's taking you with her.' Purah readjusted the glasses on her nose, but they slipped down the bridge as she shuddered with excitement and joy. 'Most likely for diplomatic purposes. The Zora youth regard Link as a saviour of sorts, so it would certainly help boost their trust and establish a bond between us and the Zora.' Symin put down his book, and took the empty cup from Link's hands, filling it up with more from the kettle before putting it in his palms yet again. 'You're condition has improved since you took the honey, Link. You're looking much less pale and you have cooled down significantly. If you can, please try and get up.' Link pushed himself out of the armchair with his legs alone, clutching the tea in both his hands. It was the best he had felt in a week. He immediately sat back down, his limbs aching from the effort. Purah scribbled the results down in her notebook. 'Concentrated courser bee honey appears to have very potent effects on subject - further experiments required.' Purah put down her notebook. 'You're better now, but please stay here until tomorrow. We need to make sure you're okay, and we'll try and keep you comfotable. It's not long before you're better Link, trust me.' Link nodded. 'Thank you for your hospitality, Miss Purah. I will assist you in any way I can as soon as I am in a condition to do so.' Link sighed. He doubted Purah, despite her best efforts to make him well. But he wanted to find a way. He had to find a way. But until they found one, tomorrow would just be another day.


End file.
